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VMWare Scales Up

VMWare has created a market for itself by providing software that slices and dices individual processors within Intel-based servers and workstations down to smaller partitions used by multiple instances of operating systems. Now VMWare is moving upmarket a bit, unveiling a product that will allow server administrators to create partitions out of groups of processors.

The first step is an add-on product to VMWare's ESX Server product. The add-on, called VMWare Virtual SMP, is set for a second-quarter release and will allow system administrators to turn a dual-CPU server into a virtual machine that VMWare ESX Server can use to manage one or more partitions.

"VMWare Virtual SMP really completes the original vision we had to provide full virtual machine support for all modern Intel IA32 laptops, desktops and servers," Diane Greene, president and CEO of VMWare, said in a statement.

Company officials have said that future plans for the Virtual SMP technology are support for quad-processor servers and add-on capabilities within its VMWare GSX Server product.

VMWare products already could be used on systems of up to 32 processors, but the technology could only create one-processor, partitionable virtual machines within those larger servers.